Flicker
by Frittern
Summary: Rory used to have a life. She used to think she was just a human girl with human friends doing human things. But ever since this alien showed up, everything is not as it seems. As her form flickers between who she is and what she believes, will she be able to use her own forgotten memories to help save an entire race of people?
1. 0 - Beginning Notes

**Hello, this is your author speaking. I thought I should probably pop in and say a few words before this gets started up.**

 **1\. I will be updating sporadically. I have hand problems and I am a junior in highschool, which doesn't make for a good mix at all. I don't have time for updates many times and while I will try to update when I can, it will not happen on a reliable basis.**

 **2\. This story is going to be an experiment of sorts and not all of it is planned out yet. That being said, criticism is always welcome, but please don't be unnecessarily hateful.**

 **3\. I meant to make many of these chapters longer, but on mobile I can only make chapters 2,000 words long for some reason? That's ridiculous and I am going to try to find a way around it, because with what I have planned this will not be broken into such neat parts. I need Long Boys.**

 **4\. I would love to hear reviews and may make an author's note answer sheet like this every once in awhile if I get enough reviews to actually answer them.**

 **5\. The first chapter is a gateway to the actual plot. Bear with me.**

 **Thank** **you for giving this book a chance. This is my first time writing again after two years and...I miss it. No matter how bad it hurts my hands.**

 **\- Fritter**


	2. 1 - In Which We Are Almost Late

"Okay, now you go. Truth or dare?" Ashia tossed me the rubber duck, nicknamed Sir Quacksalot, which squeaked on impact with my hands.

I rolled my eyes, leaning back on the cushion of the dark red couch. "You know, if it weren't for my common sense, I'd almost think you wanted me to pick dare so you could make me do something that looks dumb."

"Well, come on, you LITERALLY made me go outside and lick a TELEPHONE POLE! In 15 degree weather! That's just outright cruel," She said, sticking out her tongue. "You deserve punishment for your betrayal against our friendship!"

I laughed a little. It wasn't the nicest thing for me to tell her to do, but it was still pretty funny. My short auburn hair shifted over the left side of my face as I looked up at the ceiling, mulling over my options. I could say dare, but Ashia sounded like she wanted revenge. I would probably end up doing another stupid thing like licking one of the frozen telephone poles outside. I should play it safe and go with truth. Sure, Ashia would make fun of me for it, but since it was just me and her, there would be nothing to hide between us. We were best friends after all. I absentmindedly squeaked Sir Quacksalot and tossed him between my hands.

I looked back down, where Ashia was mimicking my thinking pose and giving me the stare down. I gave Ashia a careful glance. "…Truth."

"Is that your final answer?"

"It's as final as its gonna be, Ash."

She clapped her hands together and smiled. "Good choice! That means you have to tell me the truth and nothing BUT the truth to the question I ask you. You can't squirm your way out of this one. Got it?"

"Yeah, yeah, I've played truth or dare before," I said, motioning for her to continue with my hand that did not contain Sir Quacksalot.

"Okay. I think that I will ask you…" Ashia hugged my donut pillow to her chest and gave me a squinty look, looking me up and down. I didn't really feel nervous, but for some reason my forehead felt sweatier than it had before. I gently wiped my head with part of my shirt.

"…Who do you have a crush on, Rory?"

I almost sighed with relief, though I don't know why-- it wasn't like I was stressed over the question in the first place. "Ashia, you know I don't get crushes. I'm just not attracted to anyone."

"AH HA!" Her exclamation rang loudly in my ears, startling me. I fumbled against the cushion, dropping the rubber duckie in my hand with a squeak before I clumsily lost my grip on the couch and tumped to the floor. I looked up to see Ashia standing victoriously over me and holding out a crumpled sheet of notebook paper.

I rubbed my head and pushed myself up, frowning. "Ashia, don't-" I stopped midsentence as I examined the paper, then gasped and yanked it from her hands.

"Hey!"

"Why do you have this?!" I clutched it closely to my chest, now holding it away from her like a father penguin protecting their fluffy baby. It was a letter I had written last week to a girl in our class. She was pretty, with medium length black hair and a turquoise ombre layered underneath. Her eyes are this electric yellow color and she walks with the confidence of somebody who knew they couldn't be touched. She was so cool. Not only in a popular kind of way, but in the actually nice way. She once came over to our table and said I was the cool one. Me! Can you believe that?

The letter was just me telling her how cool she was. That's it. But of course, Ashia wouldn't understand that- she wasn't like me. She must have mistaken it as somesort of coming out letter or something.

"I had it because it's proof! Hard evidence! You like someone," Ashia tried to grab it from me, but I stood up and held it out of reach. I was five foot ten and she was only five foot four, so she could just barely reach the end of the paper.

I glared down at her. "I threw this in the trash can! How did you find it? You can't just go dumpster diving like that!"

Frustrated, Ashia tried to jump up and climb my arms like monkey bars to get to the paper. "It's! Art! Rory!! You need to show it to her!"

I growled and tried to shove her off of me, but lost my footing on the carpet and ended up falling backwards with Ashia in suit. The paper flew out of my hands and landed on the floor not far from behind the couch, leading to us both getting tangled up into a struggle to get off the couch and grab it first.

Just then, the door opened. A rush of cold air flowed through as a young man with dusty blonde hair and a puffy orange jacket strolled in, carrying two brown grocery bags. "Hey, guys, I got the stuff for the meteor show-" He looked over the bags, then blinked. The paper was by his feet while me and Ashia were midshove, about to dive for it. "What are you guys doing?"

I slowly unhooked my arm from Ashia and brushed myself off, clearing my throat. "Oh, hello, Jordan. Uh. Ashia was…making assumptions." I huffed. Ashia was my best friend, but she was also pretty airheaded at times and certainly didn't listen when she had her heart set on something.

"We were playing truth or dare. It's fun! You should try! I got my tongue stuck to a telephone pole and we had to look up how to make it unstuck," Ashia chimed in, not even bothering to brush off her plaid shirt and jeans.

"Mmhmm. And truth or dare entailed you fighting to get…this thing?" Jordan leaned down to pick up the note and uncrumpled the edges, scanning through it quickly. I felt heat rush to my face as I awkwardly shuffled my feet. "This is really nicely done free form poetry. Who's it for?"

I was about to say something, but Ashia butted in, grinning like a mad woman."It's a lo-o-ove letter, for Shelby at school!"

"Shelby?"

"No, it's not! It's just a poem complimenting her for being nice to me the other day," I crossed my arms and looked down to the ground.

"It's totally a love letter," Ashia whispered, nodding enthusiastically.

Jordan sighed and put down the bag on the dining table next to the couch. "Ashia, you shouldn't tease Rory like that. You know she's asexual _and_ aromantic. She's already expressed that she doesn't want to be in a relationship like that. If anything, the only thing this letter could be indicating is a squish, not a crush."

I nodded. "Exactly, I- hey!" I scowled at Jordan. "I don't have a squish either. All I was saying was that she was cool. That's it."

"Well, maybe, I don't know. Romance could still be a possibility. Just because you don't have attraction doesn't mean you can't enjoy it!" Ashia made a raspberry with her tongue, clearly convinced that one day I'd have a romantic life. I sighed, rolling my eyes. In her dreams.

Jordan shrugged and started sifting through the brown bag. If I leaned over, I could see the contents- their were various packages of glow related items, flashlights, packages of cookies and oyster crackers. Oyster crackers…my heart soared. My favorite salty snack. "Well, I brought some glowsticks and snacks for the meteor shower. It starts in the next thirty minutes, so we should have plenty of time." I barely even listened. I just walked over and hugged one of the bags of oyster crackers, gently breathing on them and staring past Jordan.

Unfazed by my antics, Ashia made a concerned look towards Jordan. Her dark, curly hair bounced as she checked her watch. "Uh, thirty minutes? Try fifteen. It starts at 6:30pm, right? It's 6:15pm right now."

"I thought it started at 6:45pm."

"That's not what it says on the flyer…"

Jordan's eyes widened and I stopped hugging my bag of soup crackers. "…So…that means…"

"…WE'RE GOING TO BE LATE!"

I jumped up and rushed into the kitchen, grabbing my gray fleece jacket and my beanie cap. My friends were in complete disarray, running around the house and gathering things. Ashia had four blankets piled in her arms and her trusty Nikon D3400 in her camera bag slung over her shoulder, balancing all of it to get into the car. Jordan was already outside, shoving the grocery bags into his small minivan. My face hit the crisp air of outside just before I looked back, checking the rest of the house and darting my eyes across the room to check that we had everything. Everything seemed in order…except…I darted back in and grabbed my leather sketchbook with its pencil bag in my arms, then sprinted back through the door way and slammed the house door behind me. My boots crunched in the snow blanketing the driveway as I jumped in the back seat, pulling the car door shut and strapping in my seat belt as fast as possible.

"Just go! Drive!"

Jordan was a careful driver, so he didn't immediately hit the gas, but he drove a lot faster than I'd ever seen him drive before. He was careful to take all of the roads that had already been cleared of the ice, and I trusted him, so I knew we had nothing to worry about other than possibly missing one of the biggest astrological events to happen in the past twenty years.

Looking out the window at the last bits of hazy sunset on the white drifts of snow, I thought over the event. It was pretty big for our small town, as our only public park was one of the best places in Minnesota to see the Pointe Meteor Shower. People from all around come to see it every twenty years, and it brings a great deal of tourism to the town for the one to two days people stay to watch it. It's apparently a very bright meteor shower, though I wouldn't know myself- I'm only seventeen, so I was born a little after the most recent event. My mom had raved to me about them last time she was in town, and she said she was sad that we wouldn't be able to see my first shower together.

The thing that is so special about this particular meteor shower is that the scientists monitoring it this year said that because of excess sharpanel in the atmosphere, there would be an even brighter, closer light show than ever before. It was exciting, and it was all of our first times, so we were hoping to get the best seats in the house.

I sighed. That's alright. Even if we don't get great seats and we don't see most of it, I'll just be glad to be with friends. I smiled a bit and hugged my gray fleece jacket close to me.

"Could you drive any faster? We're losing daylight, here!"

"I'm trying! Calm down, Ashia, we don't want a wreck."

"I'll give you a wreck if we don't get there on time."

My breath fogged up the glass of the car window as the park came into view in the distance. It dazzled with lights from excited people piled up in their cars to watch the show. This was going to be good.


	3. 2 - In Which Wishes Are Made

**I'm doing my author's note here since I finally found a way to make longer chapters.**

 **So! I feel really bad for not updating, but also super proud that I even was able to keep my promise of updating at all, making this a mixed feeling chapter. My hands are in pain as I'm launched into the first few days of school and this thing is barely edited, but I think that it's good enough to post already. The other chapter wasn't edited at all(as it was probably obvious), so I don't think this should cause much trouble from that standpoint! I just hope it's good enough for all of you to enjoy and help interest you in the next coming chapter.**

 **Speaking of you guys, I have reviewers to respond to! I had no idea I'd be getting any reviews at all, especially with that bad update schedule, but I am glad I did. You guys really inspire me to make the most of my writing, even through the pain!**

 ** _Piratemonkies64_** **: I'm glad you think so! I was hoping that I handled my OCs a little better than what I've seen otherwise- after all, I gotta use those 10+ years of writing experience somehow, right? I'm still bad at my voice and I need some work with how I present emotions in characters, but considering how out of practice I've been I feel like I'm at least somewhat accomplished. While I am hoping to make this story as different as possible from other OC based IZ stories, though many of the character archetypes and plot points have probably been used at some point. It's hard to be 100% original when you have a fandom that's been around for at least sixteen years now. I will continue to try and make this story unique and interesting, with many plot points and twists that will keep all of you interested. Thank you for reviewing!**

 ** _thelunamoth_** **: It's kind of funny, but this review sparked me to write this chapter despite it's simplicity! I had been putting it off over winter break and was completely turned off to the idea until I got the notification that people were still interested. Never underestimate the power of a simple review. It can push an author even during their lowest points!**

 **Alright, that's all for now. My hands really hurt and I'm tired. I hope y'all have a great week going back to school and hopefully I'll see you again with another update in less than a month? We'll see how school impacts this.**

 **\- Fritter**

The car pulled into the parking spot somewhat crookedly, lurching as I swung open the door and jumped out of the back seat. My boots crunched against the icy snow as they landed on the parking lot. "Alright, people, move it! Move it! We only have five minutes before the meteor shower starts, we HAVE to get a spot!"

"I know! I know! I'm going," Ashia had already opened her door and was grabbing up her stuff, pulling out a crocheted blanket and her red comforter. She stood next to me on the curb with her bundle of covers, nearly having to lean against me to be able to balance. Our parking spot was pretty far away from our point of interest, which was the convention center stationed farther down the hill. It was usually empty, as not much happens in this town, but now there were bright neon lights streaming out of the windows and muffled music playing from speakers inside the building. Crowds were lined up outside, though their numbers began to dwindle as the last groups squeezed their way into the building. Ashia let out a huff as she peered over the pile in her hands. "We're never going to make it that far! All of the good seats are inside, and judging by how there are still people waiting outside, there's no way we will be able to fit, much less actually be able to sit down."

Jordan had also gotten out of the car, nearly slipping on the ice with a yelp as he tried to hold all of the snacks. He braced himself against the side of the car, breathing heavily with his hands full of cookies and oyster crackers. "Yeah, well, we can figure something out, even if we have to sit outside."

I looked at him, shocked. "In the cold, with the ice and snow? You hate the cold!" And even if he did like the cold, like me and Ashia, the cold is still unreasonably uncomfortable if we have to sit in the wet snow.

"It's better than not getting to see anything at all! We can sit right in that cluster of trees, next to the building. Cover from the winds, not much snow on the ground, and we can still see the convention center! Plus, it's closer to the car," Jordan cautiously tiptoed on the icy ground, trying to balance himself by using on arm against the car hood. "Rory, I don't see you holding anything. Can you grab the glow stuff?"

I shrugged and opened up the side door, stretching over the seat to get the brown paper bag filled with glow items. Comparatively, my load was much lighter than my that of my friends', but at least I was helping.

Ashia had already begun descending down the hill towards the trees, carefully picking her way through stone outcroppings. I helped Jordan by letting him hold my arm, his slippery feet not being accustomed to the ice coating the ground. He came from Texas, which you can imagine doesn't have much ice. He had thought that fifty one degrees was cold before he came here, so I'm sure it was a shock when he first felt that sudden drop of at least forty degrees in temperature. That much was evident as his shivers ran up my arm, despite him having a heavy winter coat on.

Even so, he's a trooper- I rarely hear a single complaint from him, and his determination to function despite the sheer drop in temperature makes me proud of him. He barely broke stride with me as we covered the final stretch of rocks before the woods, other than his few slip ups where he nearly knocked me over to keep from landing on his head.

As we all gathered near the edges of the forest, just beyond the lower areas of the parking lot that led to the convention center, Ashia had already begun setting up something similar to a camp. She had cleared most of the snow off of the area right underneath the first few trees and was now laying out her water proof sleeping bag across the ground. She had been thoughtful enough to also bring a small battery powered heater, which lay next to a small pile of the other blankets and pillows. Jordan put his bag down and wiped his brow, looking towards the convention center. "Isn't there supposed to be a speaker who was coming to talk about the planets or something?"

Ashia nodded, propping up a sheet against a branch that was hanging low from one of the trees. The set up was beginning to look like half of a makeshift blanket fort. "That's right. Some weirdo who came from Chicago. I think that he's the son of some big name scientist or something? We're probably close enough to the convention center to see some of the show, though I haven't the slightest clue why you'd want to. All of the speakers for these things have been big nerds who just want to talk about how amazing it is that the planets help propel the meteor past the Earth or whatever. It all sounds like bogus to me."

"So, wait, HAVE you gone to this before?" I ask, setting my own bag down with Jordan's.

"…Well…no. But my mom has. She also says that it's bogus. Because it is! Who would want to listen to a hot head, spouting about the cosmos as if he knows everything like that?"

Shaking my head, I sat down on the blankets and began arranging pillows with Ashia. A bunch of them were from Ashia's room, meaning there were a variety of funky designs like turtles and sequins that could change colors when flipped. The fluffiest pillow was a pink cupcake, which I appreciated greatly. I pushed that one to the front while Jordan began fiddling with the heater, finally bringing a little warmth to the tiny blanket cave that Ashia had constructed.

I grabbed the bag of glow accessories and made the final touches, draping a chain of glow sticks over the hanging tree branch and giving some glow necklaces to everyone in the group. I grinned as I stepped outside of our little creation, basking in the neon lit, fuzzy pillow warmth. It was pretty good, for something whipped together last minute. Behind me, I noticed that the speakers that had previously been playing loud music had gone silent. A screen had flashed onto the windows of the building, showing a glimpse of what was happening inside.

Jordan, who was currently wrapped up in a striped blue blanket and was now shoving a chocolate chip cookie in his mouth, pointed convention center. "Hey, it's starting!"

An announcer voice crackled out of the speakers, playing loudly for the people who had enough common sense to stay in the cars parked closer to the convention center instead of trying to pack themselves inside. "And now, ladies and gentlemen, what you have all been waiting for…a quick word from a speaker representing our sponsor, Dib! Membrane!"

The screen flashed to life with color as a stage appeared on it, a young man who looked only a year or two older than us walking out into the spotlight. He was dressed all in white, a lab coat hugging his sides with a dark sweatshirt underneath. He had black combat boots and gray pants, with shining blue goggles covering his crowds that could be seen on screen went crazy, grabbing at the stage and making a thunderous applause. In the background, some sort of techno music blared through the speakers, confetti of blue and green color bursting out in celebration.

"Show off," Ashia let out a groaning sound. I snickered as I ducked under the blanket to join them, snuggling into one of the soft blankets by the heater. I yanked the bag of oyster crackers out of Jordan's reach and began to grab a handful as the speaker began to talk to the audience.

Dib smiled, waving confidently to the audience. "Thank you, thank you, everyone! I'm glad to be here today, with all of you. It means a lot to me that you all of come here to listen," His spiky, scythe like hair whipped around with every head turn. It was a peculiar thing, with its lightning shaped points. I have never seen anything like that before. Maybe it's a new style? "As you all know, today is the very day that a meteor shower will pass over us, visible to only this sector of the planet as it takes its orbit around our solar system. I am sure it is a momentous time for you all, as a meteor shower is the pinnacle of local lore and mythology. Supposedly, the foundations of this town were built on the belief that these meteors were followed by ships. Great ships, all of which were piloted by beings from beyond this planet."

The crowds below on the screen nodded, whispering back and forth between one another. Ashia sat up a little in her seat, tugging on the blanket as she leaned forward, squinting. "Local lore? What is he getting at? Mom has never told me about any of them talking about that stuff. I mean, sure, we all know it from school and from museums, but it's not really something people from outside of town…know about..."

Jordan also perked up. "Is it true? Was this place really founded by…aliens?"

"That's the idea," I shrug, putting another oyster cracker in my mouth. "No one knows for sure, but it's what we've all been told. It kind of…binds us together, you know? Like, it doesn't exactly matter how true it is, but it's something we all kind of lean on together. It makes us all feel like we have common ground or something."

The man on the screen, Dib, continued, leaning closer to the mic. "I think that it is important to put aside all other matters when it comes to such a frontier like space. Our universe is an amazing one, with many wonders and brilliant activity from the furthest reaches of the cosmos! Such beauty should be told in truth, and it should be known what is right and what is wrong about the world we live in, as knowledge is the only way we can advance," The scientist pushed his glasses up, looking down at the podium. "That is why Membrane Laboratories has taken on a new project over the past few years. We took it upon ourselves to discover the truth, and proclaim it to the world so everyone will see the world as it is. To gift knowledge to you, the people, and to hope that you will understand it. I feel that it is important for the safety of this town and everyone in the world to present our findings here today. We have found that…"

The crowd went dead silent. Dib fidgeted, rubbing the collar of his lab coat. All three of us leaned in, even Ashia, who was having a hard time concealing her interest.

"The…beings that you all have believed in for so long…"

Dib visibly flinched on screen, glancing down at his hands as if there were note cards to help him say his speech. There were no cards there, so he instead began wringing his hands together anxiously.

"Do not…exist."

The quiet hush of the crowds continued for a moment, as if processing what the man had to say. I blinked, incredulous.

Ashia was the first to react. "What the HE-"

She was stopped short as the crowds suddenly erupted with rage, like a volcano of angry booing and hatred. Things began to be thrown onto the stage, popcorn tubs and half finished sodas. People outside of the convention centers had begun to get out of their cars and yell at the projected screen, shaking fists and kicking snow.

So much for "it doesn't matter if it's true".

Dib frantically waved his hands. "I-I mean, there's evidence! We have to show you the evidence of this- of- GAH!" He jumped to the side, barely dodging projectile of cotton candy that was thrown on stage. "You-you- need to listen! It's important! For your safety, you have to understand-"

"Go back to Chicago!" One of the audience members, a lady I recall working at are local grocery store, hissed. "How dare you attack our local culture! "

"Freak!"

"The nerve!"

The chants of insults continued as he ducked behind the podium, trying to avoid being attacked. Two body guards, both of which had gone unnoticed by me, had stepped out of the shadows and grabbed Dib by the arm, motioning to go back behind stage. He struggled against them, pointing back to the crowds. "No, I have to show them! They won't believe me if I don't show them!"

It was too late. He was led off stage, the crowd still throwing a fit even after his absence. Ashia was steaming in a much similar fashion inside the tent. "What was he thinking?! Trying to uproot our culture like some- some- agh! I don't even know! It's our culture! He did enough research to know that much about it, and yet he had the GALL to try and say that? Who gave him the right? Who gave him any kind of ego that made him think it was his place!"

"That was insensitive as all get out. Was that really all he had to say?" Jordan rubbed the back of his neck. "Honestly I would have rather heard more about that planet stuff."

I didn't want to say anything, but in my mind, I felt a fraction of Ashia's same anger. What WAS he thinking? How on Earth did he think he could just waltz in and say something like that? It made me skin crawl just thinking about it. What made someone that dead set on upsetting literally every person in the town? I sighed and hugged my arms. "That was stupid. I hope that the meteor shower is better than that, or this was a waste of time."

The announcer cleared his throat as Dib was hustled off stage. "Well, uh…that…sure was something, huh, folks! We'll continue on with our schedule, then. The meteor shower is due to start any minute now, so keep your eyes to the skies as we open up the shades of the newly installed sky view windows!"

The lights of the stage on screen faded out as a cranking sound was heard. I looked up and saw the top of the building change hue, the curtains attached to the windows peeling back to show the audience inside a full view of the sky from the cozy warmness of their seats. While this tent wasn't exactly cozy or warm, the feeling of my two friends next to me and the soft feeling of the blankets wrapped around us felt personal and safe. Ashia, while still angry, seemed to have softened a bit, hugging her knees close and gazing up at the stars. Jordan seemed to hold the same resolve, fiddling with the edges of the blanket thoughtfully as we all waited for the shower to start.

As I gazed into the deep blue, my thoughts wandered. I wasn't much of a person to keep them to myself, so I spoke. "What do you think? Are the aliens really up there?"

"I don't know, maybe. There's always a chance," Jordan leaned back in the tent, stretching out his legs. He wiggled his feet a little, letting his hands reach out to his knees. "Just think about it. This universe is so large and so vast…we'd be a tad selfish to think that we're the only ones here."

I suppose he's not wrong. Ashia stayed uncharacteristically silent next to me, then grabbed an oyster cracker from my pile, to which I glared at her. "Hey, that's min-"

"Look!" Ashia pointed, suddenly, making me jump a little in my spot. I blinked warily and followed where her finger led, deep into the dark abyss of space. The stars were shards of glass that had been sprayed across the sky, clearly visible hear where light pollution just barely reached it. If I squinted hard enough, I could see bits of the milky way, and even harder- movement!

Jordan jerked forward, leaning so the tent wouldn't get in his way. "The meteor shower?"

My eyes sparkled with excitement, and I joined in pointing as the first of the falling space rocks began to streak across the sky. "Yeah, yeah! Look at it go!" All three of us watched on, amazed as more streaks began to join the first. Slowly but steadily the sky began to be filled with little white marks, all of them racing across the sky like little fish in a stream. It was breathtaking, and we each felt a tug on our hearts as if the sky was apart of us.

Ashia slowly crunched down on the cracker next to me, making me scowl at her. She didn't stop looking at the meteor shower. "Isn't it like a tradition to wish on shooting stars or something?"

"Uh, yeah. It is," I nodded. "What's your wish?"

Her eyes flicked to the ground. "Ah. I don't really know if that's important. It won't come true if we say it, right?"

Jordan huffed from across the blankets, raising an eyebrow. "That's just stuff they tell you as kids. See, I'll tell you my wish," He cleared his throat and adjusted his bright orange coat, his breath like fog. "I wish that we get to stay friends forever and ever. That way we can continue doing cool things like this all the time!"

"You're so sappy, Jordan," I grinned, shoving him gently in a playful manner. He laughed as he almost fell over, barely steadying himself against the snack bags. I looked back at Ashia, who had perked up and was also giggling at Jordan's wish.

"Well, what about you?"

I tilted my head. "Me?"

Ashia gave me a knowing look, her chocolate brown hair gently swaying in the winter breeze. "Don't tell me you don't have a wish. You have to. Maybe…to get together with Shelby…?" She asked hopefully, smirking and wiggling her eyebrows.

"You wish," I rolled my eyes, crossing my arms and snorting.

Jordan, who had pushed himself back up, also seemed curious. "Well, what is your wish, then?"

I looked back up at the meteor shower. The density of the shower had slowed now, but still held quite a few stars that continuously flew into the night. "You know…I think that my wish would be to finally see something more. This town is kind of boring, you know? It's cool, but it'd be amazing to see something more. Another state, perhaps even another country!" I laid back against the pillows and sighed, happily. "But I don't think I'd mind if I had to stay here with you two for another hundred thousand years. We make a great team."

With a quick nod, Ashia brought up a cookie out of the packages next to Jordan, holding it in the air. "Cheers to that!"

Jordan laughed, then tossed one to me and grabbed one for himself. All of us then clinked the chocolate chip cookies together under the background of the stars.

"Cheers!"

The area grew quiet. The air was still for a moment as we all brought them back down and began to eat the cookies, as if the whole world had stopped and taken a breath.

And then we heard the noise.

"Do you hear something?" Ashia whipped around, looking outside the tent. I frowned, lowering the cookie and holding my hand to my ear. It was a high pitched ringing noise, coming from somewhere outside. I stood up and laid my blanket down, walking once again into the cold air of outside. I scanned the area, though the ground outside didn't seem to have changed from before. I looked down to the cars and the convention center, but everyone else was engrossed with the star show.

I scratched my head. "I don't…see anything."

"Oh! Oh, what the heck?" Jordan's voice perked up behind me. I blinked and turned around, confused. "I don't think that should be happening…" Jordan was looking up at the sky, and as I followed his gaze I noticed something was very, very wrong. One of the meteors, a bright light blazing, was getting larger and larger, shooting out against the darkness. It was almost the size of a ping pong ball, then a football, with each second the sound growing louder and more chaotic.

Ashia suddenly sucked in a gasp, jumping up and yanking me back under the tent. "Get down!"

I barely had time to react before the whole world around me exploded with noise, like shrieking metal, and I saw nothing.


	4. 3 - In Which Aliens Are Found

**Hey, everyone! I'm back with another chapter really fast because I had time to read some fanfiction and got motivated. Don't expect this fast of updates all of the time, but I am excited to share this next chapter with it. Thank you everyone for reading, and I hope you all have a great day!**

 **-Fritter**

The darkness was consuming. It was all around me, choking me, weighing heavy against my chest and pushing me against the ground. I weakly struggled, trying to break free of its dizzying spell, grabbing at the dirt underneath me and pushing myself upwards as hard as possible. I heard a loud "Oof!" as the weight lifted from my chest and I could suddenly breathe again, gasping for air on the snowy ground and coughing as bits of dust were sucked into my throat. As I blinked open my eyes, adjusting to the small amounts of light, I held my chest and looked around me.

Our little tent had been blown back, with pillows and glowsticks scattered around the ground. Jordan had landed on his butt next to the bags of snacks and was now coming to, rubbing his eyes and squinting at the damage around us. He seemed confused and was now gently massaging his arm, so he must have accidentally landed on me and hurt his arm when I pushed him off. Whoops. I felt bad for him, but at least he was okay outside of that. Ashia was alert by my right side and stared down the edges of the forest beyond us. Well, perhaps alert is not the best word to describe her. Her chest was heaving as she staggered, propping herself against the tree and standing up fully. Her shoulders were tense and her fists were balled up, her green eyed glare piercing, like a hawk. She looked absolutely livid.

"Wh...what happened?" Jordan ran his hands through his hair, dumbstruck. "There was a shooting star, and then it- then it came closer-"

" _That_ happened," Ashia's voice was cold as she pointed an accusing finger into the forest.

There was a large gash into the ground, like a metal plow had run through the snow. Trees were bent, burnt and broken against the ground, snapped tree limbs and dead, scorched pine needles layered the outside edges of the indentations. It made a hole in the tree line and revealed, just barely, something metallic jutting out of the snow. It was purple in color and looked like a futuristic engine of a rocket, fuming with steam that hit the freezing cold air as the heat inside of it began to die down. Whatever it was attached too had hit the snow deep, and was now covered in crumbling bits of frozen ice. My eyes widened as I saw it. I stumbled back against the trunk of the tree and clung onto the bark, gritting my teeth. "What is _that_?"

Ashia walked forward, brushing past Jordan. Her feet landed solidly against the snow, unwavering in the face of this new danger. She spoke harshly, her voice biting. "It's a ship," she said, climbing up part of the snow that was crowded around it and looking down at the surface of the engines. "A spaceship."

"What are you doing?" Jordan scrambled up to his feet against the snow, reaching out for Ashia. He looked a little panicked, to say the least. "You can't just walk up to a spaceship! Ashia!"

I also moved forward, but I was slower, unsure of myself. A spaceship. Where had a spaceship come from? Why was it here? But...most importantly...who was piloting it? I picked my way over the bits of wreckage, carefully placing my foot over a piece of shrapnel. My eyes were glued to the ship and I found myself holding my breath as Ashia knelt down and began digging through the snow, ignoring Jordan's warning entirely.

He didn't dare step closer to the ship, but he still sounded determined to keep Ashia out of it. "You have to get away from that thing, Ash! It could hurt you. What if it has...has lasers or something? It could shoot you! OR it could impale you! Or it could-" I shushed him loudly, not even looking back as I leaned forward. I could just barely see over Ashia's shoulder as she continue trying to clear away the snow on the glass. She worked meticulously, being careful not to damage the ship further and avoiding shards of glass that stuck out in the snow. Bit by bit, the insides of the ship became less foggy, and a form began to take shape.

A breath was sucked in by Ashia. I couldn't peel my eyes away now. Jordan, despite himself, had inched closer and was now also trying to get a good look at the inside of the cockpit.

They were small, adorning torn up maroon rags and limbs being splayed out limply against the seat. The skin that was showing, mainly around the head, was a light green color with pink fluids seeping from unseen wounds, and the eyes that were barely open held a glossy ruby red color. On top of their head, two gangly black antennae barely hung on, unmoving. They didn't look awake. In fact, they looked like they needed some medical attention.

Jordan gasped, and suddenly I was yanked back. "Hey-!" I yelped, almost falling into the snow before Jordan's arms caught me. I glared at him, trying to shove him off. "What's the big idea? Let me see it!"

"No! Did you see that thing? It's a full on alien! Haven't you seen those movies? You could die, Rory! We just need to wait until the polic-" There was a loud crash. His head shot up from me, as did mine from him. "HEY! Ashia! What are you doing?!"

Jordan's arms were shaking. He was cold and he seemed pretty scared, despite his height and his strength that held me back. Ashia, on the other hand, looked completely ticked off, any of the caution she had before completely being thrown out the window. She had thrown a large chunk of ice at the windshield of the ship, which had broken through it easily. She was now lowering herself down into the cockpit, growling underneath her breath. "Of all of the stupid, incompetent…"

Her voice trailed off as she disappeared underneath the snow covered ship, which made Jordan finally break free of his originally frozen state. He dropped me to the ground and sprinted the rest of the way to the ship, breathing heavily and clawing his way up the mound of snow. "Ashia! Ashia, get back up here! You're going to get yourself killed!" I barely missed a beat, jumping up and running after him. Inside of the ship was dark and hard to see, though you could sometimes see sparks that shot out of the wires in the walls. Other than that, I couldn't see anything, and I was startled when the alien body we had all been examining before was suddenly hoisted out of the cockpit and dropped onto the snowy bank. Jordan made a weird high pitched noise of fear, grabbing his arm back as to not come to close to the body. Ashia's head poked out again as she grappled the snow and propped her own body up, all the while mumbling out the string of complaints from before. "...dim witted, no brained, idiotic LUNATICS!" Her voice was louder than before, though what exactly she was complaining about was uncertain. I was still eyeing the body of the alien, which lay motionless on the ground, but Jordan held out a hand to help Ashia. Ashia took it begrudgingly, grunting as she pulled herself back out of the ship. Jordan stared at her as she brushed the snow off her coat and grabbed the body of the alien again, absentmindedly throwing them over her shoulder as she made her way back down the snow bank.

"Wh...what on earth is even going on anymore?" Jordan was holding his head now, rubbing his temples. "Ashia! Ashia, why are you taking the alien? What are you going to do with it? Ashia!"

Ashia barely looked back as she began gathering up the supplies that we had left strung out in the snow. "We're leaving, come on. Help me get everything in the car, guys."

I scratched my head. She didn't seem like she was going to talk about this, but she...knew something. The Ashia I knew wouldn't just pick up an alien and walk away from a problem. She was a risk taker, but...not like this. Her seriousness about the situation also seemed to starkly contrast the way she usually carried herself, making me wonder what exactly she knew about this alien. As much as I wanted to inquire, my mind felt frozen from the cold air, and Ashia didn't seem to be interested in answering questions. I sighed and shook my head. "Come on, Jordan. Let's go."

"You can't be serious, Rory. You're just going to go with this?" Jordan balled up his fists, groaning as he slipped down the snowbank. "Fine. Fine! We'll go to the car. We'll let Ashia just carry an alien like that's a normal everyday occurance. We'll sit here and pretend like Ashia is talking to us and communicating like a friend should be. Friendship! This is great!" He fumed as he grabbed the bags up from the ground, not seeming to really care if he crushed the snacks or not.

I sighed and also grabbed up supplies, quickening my pace in hopes to keep up with my friend. Since Ashia was busy carrying an alien up the side of the parking lot, I was stuck holding the blankets and pillows as well as the bag I had grabbed from before. Jordan was grumbling about the heater, which he had flicked off and was now balancing against the other bags and long string of glow sticks that hung off his side. We worked together once more, despite Jordan's frustration, pushing against each other to keep ourselves from falling off the rocky outcroppings we had weaved through before. Nervously, I found myself fiddling with my hands and looking back. No one else had noticed, from what I could see. People were still nestled in their cars, and the people inside were still packed in. The outside air was completely quiet, as if the world did not find it necessary to even pay mind to the three juniors trying to drag a bunch of supplies up a ridge. It wasn't especially surprising. Other than some outliers, the people in this town seemed pretty oblivious to outside interference. They rarely thought outside of their basic needs, and therefore didn't pay mind to things outside their control. I wonder if they even heard the crash? Probably not.

We reached the top, huffing, and Ashia had already started the car. She had apparently stolen the keys off of Jordan, who had set his pile down and was now patting his sides in confusion. Ashia motioned for them to hurry up, making me sigh and use my elbow to nudge my door open. The car inside was warm, but I stopped in my tracks when I saw that Ashia had stuck the alien's body in the back, right next to my seat. My shoulders stiffened. "Ashia? Why did you put them with me?"

"Don't worry, he's not going to bite."

"He had better not. Why couldn't you just sling him in the back of the truck?"

"Rory, he's unconscious and injured. There's no way I was going to let him just freeze back there," Ashia said, running her hands through her curly hair. "Just. Don't worry about it. We need to get back to the house as quickly as possible. Jordan, everything loaded up?"

Jordan grumbled, sliding his way into the passenger seat and setting some of the bags down into the bottom of the truck bed. "Yeah. Sure. Why are you in the driver's seat?"

"I'm driving. If you go, you'll get nervous and drive as slow as a dying snail. That's not what we need right now," She began adjusting the rear view mirror to her height, making careful glances back at the alien in the back seat.

He seemed offended at first, opening his mouth to protest, and then sighed. "Well...yeah, you're probably right. You can drive, but you had BETTER not dent my truck. I worked hard to fix this baby up," He patted the side door as he closed it, looking warily out at the convention center. He seemed worried, unsure of himself. It's not like I can blame him. This is the first time any of us have dealt with this before.

I shoved the blankets and pillows in first, putting a soft, fluffy barrier between me and the small alien. As I climbed into the car and shut the door behind me, my gaze shifted to the alien next to me. The car lurched backwards and his breathing hitched, barely coming out in nasally sounding breaths. He was so...different looking, but somehow familiar. His alien features were different and weird looking, sticking out like warning alarms, but I found it possible to relax my tense shoulders for a moment as I looked at him. Perhaps it was the fact that he looked like he was almost dead, or maybe it was just his sudden appearance, but my brain seemed to be grappling between how to feel. I was shocked, I was tired, I was worried, and I was scared. But somehow, with each new emotion, there was a calming sense of security. Despite Jordan's jumpiness and Ashia's odd behavior, there was some invisible line, some connection. It was recognizable if I truly thought about it.

Trust.

Who did I trust? Ashia? Jordan? This alien?

I was not sure. I wasn't sure of anything at this moment.

I turned towards the other side of the truck as Ashia began to speed down the road, biting my lip and looking out the window. Jordan began to protest her recklessness with the steering, but Ashia was silent, and they were background noise. The snow outside swam past the car like a sea of white, changing and shifting despite the one constant color. Maybe once we got home things would be better.

* * *

Dib was ruffled up from his encounter with the crowds, pacing backstage worriedly. He did not join in and look at the show, nor did he appeal to the workers bustling around him and asking him questions. He held his arms close, his lab coat frayed around him with every small movement. The only sound he cared about was his boots clicking against the ground, his mind lost in deep thoughts.

He felt a tug to his left. He turned his head just barely to look down at who was bothering him. It was one of his personal assistants, a small woman with a wide stature and a soft face. She looked up at him with worried eyes, her tablet in her hands quietly spewing out statistics. "Mr. Membrane, I understand you feel unhappy about this, but you are going to have to help us pack up to move to the next town. Your father's research depends on your success with this mission. In fact, the whole world's safety depends on your suc-"

"No need to lecture me, Alexa. I understand the stakes. Both my dad and the Swollen Eyeball have made it abundantly clear," Dib said, holding up his hand.

"If you understand, then it is imperative you keep moving. There's no telling when the next breach will hit, and this town is an outlier compared to the others. There will be people that will listen," Alexa's little bun bounced as she looked down and tapped the screen of her Holo52 tablet. Always busy, always occupying herself with two things at once. No telling who she was talking to or what she was doing on the digital world.

"It's just...for years I've been trying to convince people aliens exist. Years! And suddenly, I try to tell people that they don't exist, and I get backlash. That's stupid."

Alexa patted his shoulder, her arm just barely reaching. It felt like nothing was there. "It's alright, sir. They just don't get how important it is. For the safety of everyone, this is work that must be done. Our leader is depending on you," She said with a warm smile. Dib smiled back. Despite the fact that he felt bad for failing this time, he knew that it was what he was required to do for the safety of everyone. Having a coworker, if not a friend, have his back was exactly what he needed right now. A beep sounded from Alexa's tablet, making her perk up. "Ah! Incoming call from Lorethan."

Dib rolled his eyes. "Speak of the devil and he will come. Put him on my com, I suppose we'll have to walk and talk." He had already began to make his way towards the exit, where workers had started stacking the equipment back into the van. His com unit connected to his goggles started up and a screen flickered on the inside of Dib's vision, a darkened figure coming into view. It had long ears that pointed upwards and a round, oval like face, with two gleaming, inhuman, amber eyes. They looked somewhat panicked.

"Mothman, we're running out of time. I know you're pressed, but there was a breach in the atmosphere just earlier, and we're-" the audio cut out for a second, another silhouette appearing across screen and yelling at some of the people behind them. Dib frowned as Lorethan continued. "We're not holding up great."

Dib ran his hand through his hair. "A breach in the atmosphere could be anything. There's a meteor shower going on near here, maybe it was some passing debris."

Lorethan readjusted the camera and tensed. "No. It was not debris. Too big, too fast, and we got video of it," The creature pressed a button and another screen appeared on Dib's goggle overlay. Something flew past the camera, and as Lorethan slowed it down, he zoomed in up close. Dib's breath caught in his throat. The colors were obvious, the design just like it was years ago. The insignia scrawled along the outside of the ship had been burned into his mind for far too long, and he found himself gripping the edge of the car door as he opened it.

"That's an irken ship. Not just any ship...that's..." Dib stopped. He didn't know if Lorethan knew anything about his rival, or about the mess they had gotten into years ago.

"The exact kind of ship we were trying to keep from reaching these planets ever again," Lorethan finished, swiping away the screen. It wasn't what Dib was going to say, but at least there was no need to mention him. "We don't have time to try and convince anyone of anything, and we certainly don't have time to move to a different area. The ship crashed somewhere almost on top of where you currently are. We need you out there and investigating. Don't hurt the pilot or whatever's in there if you have to, but get him in custody, or at least off the planet. We can't have their presence messing this up," He grimaced and looked down, his long ears folded back. "And if you need to use force...don't be afraid to."

Dib nodded, though he knew that Lorethan didn't have the video chat on him. "Of course. I'll do the best I can," He was already closing the van door as the last of the equipment was loaded. Alexa had also opened her door and was scooting into the back seat, watching the video call from her tablet and taking notes on the side. "If it's any consolation, Lorethan, this is far more up my ally than public speaking."

Lorethan sighed, flicking an ear. "I kind of thought so when I first saw you. I can't thank you enough for this. The security of your country and your galaxy depend on you."

"Yeah, yeah, business as usual." Everyone seemed to be depending on him, lately.

That instilled a chuckle from him. "Of course. Oh, and Dib?"

"Yeah?"

"...Be careful."

The screen flicked off as the call ended. Dib wiped his head, feeling the sweat that he had originally not known was there. The back of the van closed shut, signalling that they could leave. Alexa tapped his shoulder as the driver began to pull forward. "I've sent the exact coordinates to the GPS, but it doesn't look like it's more than sixty or so feet from the entrance of the building. Sir, what are your orders, then?"

Dib glared ahead at the meteor shower in the distance. The people inside the building seemed to have remained oblivious, and since Dib hadn't heard the crash from inside either, nobody else would probably be out there. That meant the all clear could be given to go after that ship. He gave a nod to the driver, and then looked back at Alexa. "We're going to find ourselves an alien."


	5. 4 - In Which Secrets are Spilled

**Hey-o! Back at it again with another chapter. School has made things hard but I'm trying to update at a semi-consistent rate, even if it is a little shorter. I don't know exactly how to feel with this chapter and I'm not entirely sure I like how it turned out, but this is of course a rough draft! As for reviews:**

 **_Starshot82810_ : I'm so glad you're enjoying it! It's not my best and I can't wait to edit this story with all the juicy details I've accidentally left out, but for now I'm just happy that other people are excited. Thank you so much for the review!**

 **You guys are great and I hope you continue enjoying the story! Despite school, I hope to continue cranking out more chapters soon. Until next time!**

 **\- Fritter**

As soon as the truck pulled to a stop in the garage, Ashia jumped out of the car. She had already opened up the side door and was hauling the sickly looking alien out of the seat faster than I could get my seatbelt off. I struggled with the buckle for a moment and then opened up my car door, but Ashia was already inside. She had left the door swinging open and hadn't bothered to grab anything else on the way in. Jordan let out a frustrated sigh as he opened up his own door.

"She's being reckless. I have no idea what's going through her head! First we just bring home some alien, and now she's not even helping us get everything out of my truck. She could at least help carry stuff in."

I pat Jordan's shoulder from over the car door, giving him an empathetic look. "Hey, it's just Ashia. I'm sure she'll tell us what's going on once she's ready. I mean, this is huge! A literal alien crashed in front of us! We can't just leave it there, you know? Maybe she just wants to help the alien a lot or something."

"Yeah, maybe...I guess. It's just weird! And I don't like it," Jordan said, reaching back in the truck and taking the bags out of the back. "Grab the blankets out of the back- I don't want all of the grass and dirt to get my truck more dirty than it is."

I complied and dragged the blankets behind me, slamming the door shut with my foot and following Jordan back around the truck. I looked outside. It was still snowy, but if I looked up at the sky I could see some darker clouds gathering in the distance. It looked like something of a storm was rolling in. I shivered. Storms were the worst. Perhaps this time the power would stay on long enough for us to be able to get the mobile DVD player charged, that way we could watch movies in the dark and try to ignore the literal alien we have in the house. I clicked the button on the side wall, which began to close the garage door just as the winds began to blow against the snow. Hopefully it would just blow over and we wouldn't have to worry about it.

I dropped the pile of dirty, wet blankets onto the floor next to the washing machine which sat right in between the kitchen and the living room. "I'm going to leave these here for us to do later, okay, Ashia?" I called out to the other room, but all I recieved in response was a mumbling noise. I brushed off my hands and walked into the other room where Ashia was. She had laid the alien's broken looking body down on the couch and turned him over, where a metal, oval shaped thing protruded from the creature's back. It was silver with pink accents, and it almost looked like some sort of futuristic backpack without straps. I hadn't seen it before in the car because the alien's back had been away from me, but now it was clearly out in the open, and Ashia was messing with it. She had pulled open one of the compartments and was pulling out wires slowly, twisting them together and causing sparks to move inside the machine. I approached carefully, watching her work with them. Jordan was also there. He had left the bags on the table and had taken a chair up beside the couch. He had stopped asking her questions and was now just watching her, a concentrated frown adorning his face.

I slowly put my hand on her shoulder, causing her to flinch. "Hey, uh, Ashia? We kind of need you to tell us what's going on. You can't just leave us in the dark like this, we're your best friends. Come on."

She stared ahead and didn't say anything for a moment, then bit her bottom lip. "Alright...alright. I'll tell you what I know, but not right now. I'm tired, and I need to fix this before he explodes or something. You never know what could happen with these things," Ashia started to begin putting her hands back into the machine, but then she stopped and looked back up at me and Jordan. She smiled, though it didn't look like a very confident smile. "I promise things are alright. Don't worry about it. I know this looks really strange and it makes no sense, but none of you guys are in danger or anything. Just let me finish working on him, and then I'll talk."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. At least she was saying something. I was glad that Ashia could at least be truthful when I needed her to. The fact that a literal alien was in our house was still pretty jarring, but for some reason I felt that Ashia knew what she was doing with this situation. I would leave it be for now.

"You had better," Jordan crossed his arms, leaning back in the chair. An alert buzzed on his phone, which he raised his phone and swiped to check. The frown on his face deepened. "Uh oh. A big snow storm is headed this way. It shouldn't last more than the night, from what reports say, but it looks bad enough that I won't be able to get home until the morning," He gave me a sideways glance. "Uh. Would it be okay if I stay here for tonight?"

"Well, it's not my house- it's Ashia's."

A huff sounded from Ashia, as well as a mechanical popping noise from the metal thing. "You stay here like 90% of the time. It's practically your house."

I made a shrugging gesture. "Yeah, but that's just because of the fact that are parents are both out of state so often. Dad trusts Jordan to drive us everywhere and your mom trusts me to make sure you don't get in trouble," I pause and then look down at the pale green skin of the alien. "...I didn't do a very good job of that this time, I suppose. I was just… really shocked. Nothing like this ever happens. I had no idea what to do."

"Nah, don't worry about it, Rory. No one could keep Ashia out of trouble. But I'm not gonna lug you weirdos around everywhere anymore if you guys end up making this a regular thing. I don't know how I'm going to explain alien bodily fluids on my car seat to my parents," Jordan said. He began tapping on his phone, probably texting his parents about the storm.

Ashia waved her hand above her head as if to shoo Jordan's accusation off. "Don't worry, I'll take care of the stuff on your precious car. You need to get cleaned up if you're going to stay here, though. I don't suppose you brought sleepover supplies?"

Jordan got up from his seat and looked Ashia over. He held up his hands and shook his head. "Ah. No. That'd be really creepy, Ash. Why would I bring a bunch of sleepover stuff when all we were going to do was watch a meteor shower?"

"You never know when an emergency sleepover has to happen," I said, motioning for upstairs. "My dad has some stuff he leaves over at this house in case he needs to stay over here with me for a bit. Work can get pretty hectic, you know. Come on, I'm sure he wouldn't mind you wearing one of his old t-shirts."

* * *

Jordan had taken a shower and dried off, so now he had donned my father's old baseball tee. It had a cardinal on it with a baseball bat, advertising for the "Springfield Cardinals". I'd never heard of the team, but then again, I don't get out much. It was large and baggy on his long, lanky arms, but it worked. He said that none of the pants fit him, so I washed Jordan's jeans in a separate load from the blankets. His hair was messy and still a bit damp, but other than that he looked comfortable and dry, so I think that he was at least presentable. I had also taken a shower and gotten dressed in my usual pajamas- a simple t-shirt and fluffy pants with galaxy patterns. I towel dried my light brown hair as I walked down stairs, turning the corner to the kitchen to find Jordan rummaging through the refrigerator. He poked his head up from the door, then waved. "Hey, Ror. How'd the shower go?"

"Fine. What's up with you being in the refrigerator?" I raised an eyebrow, leaning against the door of the fridge to look inside.

"Just trying to look for something to scrounge up a meal before the electricity ends up falling out," Jordan said. I looked outside to find that he wasn't wrong. The window was blurred out by snow that was falling hard now, the darkness of the night sky and the clouds overhead dimming any possibility of being able to see anything. If it's that bad, there's no way we weren't going to lose power by the end of the night. Jordan continued as he shut the fridge, taking out some leftovers from earlier this week. "Hey, you guys know that the water tastes really weird here, right? It has this odd consistency, like it's a little bit thicker or something. And it kinda tastes sweet, like you soaked cotton candy in it. What's up with that?"

"Oh, Ashia's parents wanted to filter their own water. Her mom says that she doesn't trust the filtration that the city pulls through Lake Michigan, so they ended up setting up their own system. It tastes a little weird, but trust me- that stuff is clean. Apparently there's this chemical they can put in the water and run it under a cooler that makes it fresh and crisp. Completely safe. They like it so much that they even use it in their shower and sink system," I yawned and checked my phone for the time. It was about ten now, not too late. Hopefully the blankets would be ready soon so we could set up camp in the living room. Jordan had already replaced the batteries in the heater, so if the power did go out, we'd be a hundred percent good.

Jordan huffed. "Yeah, I noticed. It's a bit odd. But then again, Ashia is odd." He placed six of the leftover pizza bites into the microwave and poured a small bit of the salad mix into a bowl. "Speaking of Ashia, you should probably check on her. Who knows what she's doing to that alien now. I've got the food covered."

Jordan's logic was sound, so I nodded and waved goodbye, even though I was only going a half room over. "Yeah, I'll see if we can figure out some kind of entertainment option for the night. You up for disney movies, or The Princess Bride classical type stuff?"

"Why not both?" The microwave beeped, and Jordan opened it up. He reached for the plate. "AH! Hot!" He shook his hand and sucked on his fingers, making me snicker. Nerd.

Leaving Jordan to figure out the pizza roll situation, I walked into the living room and grabbed the stack of DVDs off of the counter, turning to Ashia. "Ashia, what movies are you thin-...what are you doing?"

Ashia was still leaned over the alien on the couch, though she was now holding some kind of tool in her hand. It was magenta in color and had a hook on it. She had her tongue sticking out in concentration as she draped herself over the back of the couch, meticulously pulling at a large wire. She was breathing hard, trying to push another wire through it to connect to the base of the machine. "Just...a...second! Almost have...IT!" The wires connected. Suddenly, a large bolt of electricity shot out from the machine, coursing through the body of the alien and making it tremble as it ran across the surface. I ducked out of fear and put my arms up to my face, trying to shield myself from the blinding light.

The crackling noise stopped as the electricity ebbed away. The tingly feeling that had filled the room was now gone. I slowly lowered my arms and watched, my eyes wide as the wires whipped back into the machine out of Ashia's hands. The compartment closed by itself and glowed a bright pink color as if it was brought back to life. An electronic sounding voice echoed from the machine. "STARTING UP. PLEASE WAIT…"

I blinked. "What did you _do_?"

Ashia didn't seem to hear me. She ran her hand through her hair, pushing herself off on the couch and laughing in relief. "Ha ha! Finally. And you thought I couldn't work with paks, huh?"

I was about to ask what she was talking about, because that barely made any sense, but I was interrupted when the alien body on the couch jerked, coughing loudly and sucking in ragged, deep breaths. My body froze as I stared at the figure, the nearly lifeless green body that looked like it was on death's door moments ago. It was moving. Ashia rushed over to the other side of the couch and helped prop it up against the pillows, holding onto its arm and shaking it a bit. The gangly antennae ontop of its head flicked, and it's claw-like, gloved hands held its chest as it tried to breathe steadily. I took a couple steps back, my teeth clenched. It was...it was…

Jordan popped up from behind me, glaring. "Y'all gotta learn to chill out! You almost made me drop my pizza...ro…" He also froze, the plate of pizza in his hands shaking as his eyes trained on the green mess on the couch. "It's alive?!"

Ashia was gently slapping its face now, still ignoring us. "Hey! Hey idiot, come on, I know you're in there."

The green creature didn't seem to like all of the sudden stimulation, gasping for breath and clawing at the air where Ashia was trying to shake them awake. Their voice came out as raspy and high pitched, hitching every few breaths. "A-Atch! Stop it! Don't-" Their glossy crimson eyes blinked open drowsily at first, but then widened as they saw the face in front of them. They jerked back, their antennae directly in the air as they tried to push themselves away from Ashia. "AHH! YOU'RE NOT ATCH!"

I held my ears. Though I was surprised to hear almost perfect english coming out of the alien's mouth, their voice was loud and it hurt to listen to. Despite the high pitched voice, it was almost definitely male sounding. Ashia didn't seem surprised by the outburst and instead grabbed the alien by the collar of his ripped clothes and shoved him back down onto the couch. "Would you calm down? You're making a scene."

The alien snarled, trying to wriggle out of her grip. He stopped and then hissed in pain, grabbing his side. "What have you done to me, beast?! What have you done to Zim? Why am I hurting? Where am I? Who are you?!"

"Agh! Again, with the questions. Nobody ever stops asking me questions," She used her free hand to rub her temples. "Zim, I need you to-"

"You need to release Zim! Right this instant, so I can rip your organs from your body! How dare you even touch Zim, you hideous human MONSTER!" Despite his injuries, he looked like he would make true to his promise. He gnashed his teeth and lurched underneath her weight, glaring at Ashia furiously. At this point, Ashia seemed equally frustrated, returning the glare with almost equal intensity.

"Hey, uh, we're still here?" Jordan was shaking nervously, his muscles tense as he straightened his back. "And can I just say...what the HECK is happening?!"

"I second that. Ashia, you said you'd explain as soon as you finished messing with that...that THING. I want to know what's happening _right now_ ," I said, putting the DVDs down on the ground. I was done being patient. That alien...this "Zim" could be dangerous, and yet Ashia seemed to know exactly who he was.

Ashia paused her glaring contest with the alien and looked at both of us. She seemed to be mulling something over in her head, as if trying to decide between two equally bad menu items at a restaurant. She sighed, then shook her head. "No...no, you're right. I need to start explaining. I can't keep pretending that I can hide this from you anymore. It's not fair to you, and it will make Zim nearly impossible to deal with otherwise." Ashia took a deep breath and then reached behind her. A click sounded out from where her hand seemingly touched nothing, and her form flickered between what was already there. Dark skin turned to a dark green, amber eyes became large orbs, dark brown hair became spindly antennae.

That's when I realized that there was more than one alien in the room.


End file.
